Eldar Scrolls IV: Oblivion
I think this could possibly be a perfect game. If you are not (and I don't know how you couldn't be) familiar with the series. It's an Epic (meaning huge) Fantasy based RPG. However this is not your final fantasy style linear console gaming RPG. This is you in a world and you are pretty much free to do whatever you want. If you can see it you can get to it - No exception. The world is huge so big that most players will never see the entirety of it. Which really is a shame because the graphics are amazing. I can't think of how many times I've just stood at a peak or some other spot and just looked around scanning the horizon. It's beautiful. As for the rest of the world it's about as close to real time Photo Realistic graphics as we can currently get. When people talk their mouths move in sync to what they are saying. The ambient sounds are great.
For those familiar with it through Morrowind. Oblivion has taken everything Morrowind did and just made it better, combat, story, journal, map inventory, personality tests, lock picking, magic, etc...etc...etc.. all better. Morrowind was a great idea, but Oblivion is really that idea in form.
Just amazing.
For those familiar with it through Morrowind. Oblivion has taken everything Morrowind did and just made it better, combat, story, journal, map inventory, personality tests, lock picking, magic, etc...etc...etc.. all better. Morrowind was a great idea, but Oblivion is really that idea in form.
Just amazing.
0
Comments
Good god, that's one of the best things about Oblivion - no more need for Siltriders.
Oh the 8 bit days
Wizardy was my first computer game on the Apple IIc
I wouldn't say it's Morrowind only better. Many things have been removed, such as certain guilds and factions. There are only 3 base classes now, Stealth, Magic, and Combat (make a custom class and you'll see what I mean). Medium armor types are gone, leaving just Light and Heavy (and cloth, but there's no protection there). In Morrowind you could wear Heavy armor and dress it up with a robe over the top for a cool tabard kind of look. No more. And there are at least dozen other simplifications that could be discussed.
That said, it is essentially the same game but much MUCH easier to get into. Combat is improved. Spell casting is improved. Traveling is improved (though you can still just walk anywhere you want to). This game is much more accessible than Morrowind ever was (perhaps we have the Xbox 360 to thank for that), and I think that makes up for all the things they removed. I really enjoy this 4th installment (funny how people remember Daggerfall and Morrowind, but nobody acknowledges Arena), and it is by far their best effort.
There is a design flaw that has caused people frustration, however. And that is the games difficulty level grows as you grow in level. For instance, if you walk into a dungeon at level 2, you will face fairly easy to beat monsters also level 2. If you walk into the same dungeon at level 15, those monsters will have changed to be much more powerful and geared toward your level. Which is great, right? In theory, yes. The problem lies in people who spend a lot of time leveling on side quests and then when they get back to the main storyline things have become nearly impossible. I have a friend who didn't do the first Oblivian gate in Kvatch until level 15 and he said it was near impossible to do, and he was only able to complete Kvatch by turning down the difficulty level in the game settings, which disgusts him because he thinks thats a big cop-out. Other people have stumbled upon this as well I guess on the forums, and someone went so far as to make a slow-level mod. Personally, I haven't had the game long enough to have this apply to me, but I went into Kvatch at level 2 and though it was somewhat challenging, it wasn't too hard. I'd be curious to experiment with this a bit.
Anyway, to any RPG fans hestitating, go get it. It's an excellent addition to any RPG collection.
Do you have links to those patches? They could be handy for those who don't feel like searching endlessly through forum after forum for them.
That hasn't changed at all theres, only ever been three base classes. All the other classes if you don't build your own are built on them.
It's about opinions here. I'm actually glad they split armour into 2 categories instead of 3. That added skill just wasn't needed. I do wish they allowed you to still throw a robe on overtop of armour though and also before you could wear clothing under armour. Now it's just clothing or armour. That's an area they should have left as is.
Hard to say really if this is a flaw or not. Morrowind is critisized with being far to easy for the most part and not scaling in dificulty. It also had no compelling reason to stick to the story because A) the story was dull, B) The quests were dull C) Travelling across the world on foot sucked when you had to escort someone. So in Oblivion they A) Scale the game difficulty, B) Keep the quests interesting C) Allow you to fast travel with a follower. So it comes down to choices, which has always been Eldar Scrolls strongest point - choice. You can go off and explore the world and play the game you want or stick to the story and still have a rewarding and challenging plath line.
As for people wanting to run on an underspec machine, this is a good forum:
http://www.stg-gaming.com/forum/category-view.asp
There was a cleric class, but that's beyond the Strength/Stealth/Magic thing. Not sure if the clerric is still in it but there is a Priest class you can choose from. I think there are about 20 some odd classes in Oblivion if you don't want to make your own. The whole strength/Stealth/Magic thing is just the starting point for building your own. All the built classes have one of them as their primary.
Fantastic game.
I can't believe you lasted this long
Definitely get the BTmod though. It doesn't add cheats or major game play changes like many mods. Instead it really improves the UI. It's one of those mods that after you install it feels like this is way the game should be. I also recomend the Night Eyes mod. It only effects Kahjit but it turns their night vision into an on/off situation instead of having to restart it every 30 seconds.
There are other mods, many other mods (part of the strength of Eldar Scrolls) But they start to add/change the game itself and are less about improving the way it plays.
Another cool mod (forget the name) but it gives saddle bags to your horse and allows you to call it to you from wherever you are. Very handy, but I almost never use a horse and it's easy enough to get back to town to dump equipment so I haven't installed this one yet.
That is why it takes me at least three to six months to finish a game and why I choose ons that I can hop in, kill stuff, save and get out. Don't get me wrong I LOVE to game. My rig is built to game!! Just don't get the time......little kids.....work.....life.
I heare you my life doesn't lead to massive gaming either. I usually play for about 30-45 mins in the morning before work and then if I can get home for lunch I'll geek for another 45 or so (benefit of working close to home). Then if I'm lucky I may have some time after work to play. Fortunately Oblivion allows you to save as often as you want so you aren't stuck with needing to play an hour between saves. Also many of the quests are pretty quick and there is just the world to explore. So all the time you are playing is actually progressing. There is very little down time.
Finally got off my butt and picked it up. Very nice so far!!! looks S W E E T on my system to!!!!
Ummmm ok. This series has been around much longer then fable - the series has been around before Microsoft and even Sony put out their first consoles. That not withstanding they are two very different styles of games. Fable is pretty much a straight action game. It's not open ended though it allows for lots of down time. Fable is a great game but just not really a direct comparison.
Don't get me started butchering a game that never stood a chance.
Way to many of the Go North West to xxx where North West could mean any where else on the map except exactly where you were standing. The main story line was dull - though it was more involved. I only finished it once and that was through sheer determination and I didn't enjoy it at all.
While I definitely agree that some aspects of Morrowind are better then Oblivion. Oblivion as an entire experience is a better game. However there is still massive room for improvement.
In that style of game I find the Gothic Series to be much better.